


The Blanket

by janto321 (FaceofMer)



Category: Sherlock (TV)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Different First Meeting, Childhood, Developing Friendships, Friendship, Gen, Kid Fic, Kid Greg Lestrade, Kid Mycroft
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-10-06
Updated: 2020-10-06
Packaged: 2021-03-08 08:54:50
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,763
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26849251
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/FaceofMer/pseuds/janto321
Summary: Greg meets Mycroft in the woods near his grandparent's cottage.
Relationships: Mycroft Holmes & Greg Lestrade
Comments: 10
Kudos: 52





	The Blanket

Greg always loved exploring the forest near his grandparent's home. It had once been part of the local estate but had been allowed to grow wild some years back and now was full of deer and all sorts of things that were interesting to a boy his age.

It was autumn now, and Greg knew that he'd be going off to school very soon. But he'd been permitted to stay here a little longer and so he was taking full advantage of it, enjoying the fall colors as he wandered the paths.

To his surprise, he heard a noise up ahead, once he'd crossed over the small creek that had marked the start of the estate proper. He'd been cautioned about avoiding the house and while he'd snuck up to look around a time or two, the place seemed empty and abandoned, showing evidence of a fire some years before.

But this sounded like crying. Greg carefully pushed through some of the thicker brush and found himself in a clearing. Another boy, with red hair, perhaps the same age or close to it was sitting on a falling log, blanket around his shoulders and sniffling.

"Are you alright?" asked Greg.

The boy looked up quickly. It seemed as though he might have been in a tussle. "Where did you come from?" he asked, voice sounding small and defensive.

"Over there," said Greg, pointing back the way he'd come. He cautiously approached the other boy. "My name's Greg," he said.

"My... Mycroft," stammered the other boy.

Greg sat down a few steps away, not wanting to frighten Mycroft off. "My grandparents have a cottage over there," he said.

"I was supposed to be camping with some of the other boys from school." Mycroft rubbed his nose.

"They gave you a rough time, eh?" asked Greg.

Mycroft looked away. "They don't like me."

"Well, you seem alright to me," said Greg, getting up and moving to sit on the log. "Did you have lunch yet?"

Mycroft shook his head.

"Come on back to my Nan's, she'll feed you."

Mycroft hesitated. "I'm supposed to be camping."

"Yeah, but if they ran you off, they'll probably not even notice you're missing." Greg gave him a smile.

Mycroft cracked his own. "Alright," he said.

Greg hoped to his feet and offered Mycroft his hand. Mycroft took it and got to his feet. "Bit of a squeeze but we'll make it," he promised, leading Mycroft away from the clearing and back towards the creek.

Mycroft looked a little anxious as they crossed over the creek, but he stayed close behind Greg as they made their way through the forest. Greg was glad he knew it as well as he did, though he went a little slower for Mycroft's sake.

At last they came out not far from his Grandparent's cabin. Greg went in through the kitchen door, finding his Nana at the stove. "Nana this is Mycroft. He was camping and got a little lost in the woods, so I thought I'd bring him home for lunch."

"Nice to meet you," said Mycroft, offering his hand.

Nana accepted it and looked him over. "I can drive you back to the campground after you eat."

"Thank you," said Mycroft.

"I didn't know there was a campground," said Greg, washing his hands and then taking a seat at the table.

"They started it up last year on the estate. Bit of a posh place, but I suppose it pays the taxes." She put down plates in front of the two of them and gave them a smile.

Mycroft tucked his blanket close to him as they started eating. He seemed a bit old to be carrying a blanket around, but maybe it just made him more comfortable. No doubt it was part of why the other boys were mean to him.

But that was neither here nor there. Greg talked a little bit about his grandparents and what he knew about the estate and the woods. Mycroft listened attentively and it made Greg warm to think that Mycroft actually did care.

They finished eating and washed their plates. Mycroft looked at where Greg's Nana was doing some work in the front room. "Do I really gotta go back to the campground now?" he asked. 

"Won't they worry about you?"

Mycroft shrugged.

"Well, come up to my room for a little bit, anyway." Greg led the way up the narrow stairs, going all the way to the small room under the eaves. "This is where I always sleep," said Greg.

Mycroft looked around and then walked over to the window that looked out over the garden.

"It's cozy," he said.

"I like it. I have to go back to school soon, but they let me stay here an extra week." Greg walked over to a box and pulled out a few toys. "Come on, we can play for a little bit."

"Okay," said Mycroft, sitting down on his blanket and reaching for one of the toys. 

Greg grinned and picked up another one and they soon were absorbed in what they were doing.

Nana came up after a little while. "I told the camp you were here, Mycroft," she said, wiping her hands on her apron. "I told them I'd bring you back tomorrow."

"Oh. Thank you." Mycroft scrubbed a hand through his hair.

"Do you boys want to help me with dinner?" she asked.

"Okay," said Greg, getting to his feet and offering Mycroft a hand up. Mycroft followed them downstairs, leaving his blanket behind.

Greg showed Mycroft how to cut up the vegetables. They were working close together when Grandfather came in, walking over and giving Nana a kiss on the cheek. "Well, who is this?" he asked, looking at Mycroft.

Mycroft quickly wiped off his hands and offered one to him. "My name's Mycroft, sir."

"He was staying at the campground but got a bit turned around in the woods so I brought him here," said Greg. "He's going to stay the night."

"That's fine then," said Grandfather, picking up a piece of carrot and walking back out of the kitchen.

"Go and wash up," said Nan, scooping up the vegetables. "This will be done in a minute."

"Okay," said Greg.

Before long they were all sitting at the dinner table. Mycroft looked relaxed and was smiling a lot more now and it made Greg happy. He had a feeling Mycroft didn't get to do this sort of thing very often.

After dinner they went back up to Greg's room, outside already growing dark. They played for a little while longer, then they climbed into Greg's bed and fell asleep side by side.

Early the next morning Greg woke up to find Mycroft watching him. "So it wasn't all just a dream," said Mycroft quietly.

Greg smiled at him. "No."

Mycroft didn't return the smile, looked down and picked at his blanket instead. "I've got to go back to the camp today."

"Yeah," said Greg, reaching out to touch his hand. "Don't let them hurt you," he said softly.

"I'll try." Mycroft looked at the blanket a long moment. "Will you keep this for me?" he asked.

Greg blinked a few times. "Are you sure?"

Mycroft nodded. Greg gathered the blanket in his arms and held it gently. "I'll take good care of it," he promised.

"I know you will. Maybe I'll come back to this camp next year and I'll be able to see you again."

"For sure," smiled Greg. "Let me get you my address, you can write me."

"Okay," said Mycroft, watching him get out of bed. 

Greg gently folded the blanket, then went to the small desk in the room and carefully wrote down his home address. "Here."

"Thank you," said Mycroft politely, then, suddenly reached over and hugged him tightly. "I never had a friend before."

Greg hugged him back. "I'm happy to be your friend, Mycroft. Write me and I'll write you back."

"I will," said Mycroft, pulling away and rubbing his eyes.

"Come on, I'm sure Nana will have breakfast for us."

They headed down the stairs and into the kitchen. Mycroft smiled and thanked her, but Greg could see he was growing anxious.

"Can I go with you when you drop Mycroft off?" asked Greg.

"Shouldn't be any harm in that," said Nana, sipping her own morning tea. "We'll go after we eat."

"Thank you," said Mycroft.

Under the table, Greg gave Mycroft's hand a squeeze, then let go.

After breakfast the three of them piled into Nana's car. She drove them around the woods and up the hill that led to the estate. Greg could see that cabins had been built in the shadow of the woods with a few larger buildings that he could imagine were for adults.

Nana stopped the car and a rather severe-looking man walked over to her. He opened his mouth to say something, then spotted Mycroft in the back seat. Mycroft started to shrink back, but took a deep breath and opened the door instead.

"Thank you for bringing him back," said the man, looking Mycroft over. "He should know better than to go wandering off."

Nana narrowed her eyes at him. "I do believe some of your other boys chased him into the woods," she said. "Perhaps you'd be better off talking to them."

Mycroft flashed her a smile of gratitude, then quickly turned away. The man put a hand on his back. "We'll take care of him," he said, all but marching Mycroft towards one of the buildings.

Greg felt uneasy. "Do you think he'll be okay?" he asked, climbing into the front seat.

"He's stronger than he knows," said Nana, backing up and turning around for home. "And he's got you to think about."

"I didn't do anything, not really," said Greg.

"Don't underestimate the value of a little human kindness. It's something we should all be mindful of. Kindness will get you much farther in life than brutishness, though the brutish never seem to think so. But they'll all end up alone in the end."

"Thank you," said Greg, glancing back as the camp disappeared behind them. He wasn't sure what would happen next, but he knew that he'd take care of Mycroft's blanket. Hopefully, Mycroft would write him, and maybe they could meet up again next summer.

Leaning back against the seat, Greg closed his eyes, knowing that he'd made a friend and hoping that it had made as much of a difference as Nana had said it would.


End file.
